Hare Krishna wedding ceremony attracts hundreds

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Hare Krishna wedding ceremony attracts hundreds

Independent Florida Alligator - Gainesville,FL,USA

.... The fluid motion of the priest's arms implored the lord to watch over this

most popular ceremony of the Hare Krishna religion - a wedding. ...

http://www.alligator.org/pt2/051024festival.php

Hare Krishna wedding ceremony attracts hundreds

WEDDING FEAST WELCOMED ALL TO WATCH AND PARTICIPATE IN KRISHNA TRADITION

 

By TIM HUSSIN

Alligator Contributing Writer

 

Tim Hussin / Alligator Staff

Veda Sara (left), the priest of the wedding, chants in Sanskrit as the

celestial fire flares. During the ceremony, the bride and groom sat behind the

fire, which represents the presence of God. Dousing the fire with purified

butter, a priest chanted in Sanskrit as the oils fueled the celestial flame.

 

The fluid motion of the priest's arms implored the lord to watch over this

most popular ceremony of the Hare Krishna religion - a wedding.

 

Friends and family, as well as devoted Krishna lunch patrons and two religion

classes, helped celebrate the wedding of Andy Hunter and Meryl Strauss on

Friday on the Plaza of the Americas.

 

A special feast in the wedding party's honor, including fried vegetables,

cheesecake and a variety of other dishes, attracted 634 people to the cultural

event.

 

After being legally married, Hunter, 24, a Hare Krishna follower, and Strauss,

20, president of Bhakti Yoga Club and UF student, participated in the ancient

ceremony for the annual festival put on by the Hare Krishnas.

 

The bride and groom were showered with flower petals as they ascended steps

leading to a stage covered with hanging garlands and white cloth. They took a

seat behind an arrangement of bricks surrounded with fruit and incense - where

the fire would be lit - to begin the ceremony.

 

"This ancient ceremony being performed here is a sacred act that is available

for human beings," said Rtadhvaja Swami, director of the Hare Krishna Student

Center.

 

The ceremony, based on 5,000 years of tradition, began with welcoming the Lord

into brass pots and lighting the fire, inviting the presence of God to witness

the rest of the wedding and ensure a long married life for the couple.

 

Vedasara Das, director of the Krishna lunch program at Georgia Tech and the

priest who performed the wedding, spent 20 years of his youth at a school in

western India to learn the philosophy and procedure of ceremonies in the Hare

Krishna tradition.

 

Throughout the wedding, he sprinkled grains, black and white sesame seeds,

barley and purified butter onto the fire.

 

"They signify auspicious grains that are accepted by the gods," Vedasara said.

 

 

Savyasaci Das, director of UF's Krishna lunch program, said the university was

very cooperative during the five weeks it took to get the fire and festival

approved by officials.

 

"It's not a barbecue or a bonfire," Savyasaci said. "It's a ceremonial fire in

a contained area."

 

Savyasaci said the ceremony typically lasts for three days in India, but for

timing purposes, they shortened it to lunchtime so it would be open to the

university.

 

Chris Kovachev, a junior English major who attends Krishna lunch five days a

week, said Hunter and Strauss' wedding in the plaza was a fitting way to

celebrate their marriage.

 

"They spend so much time at the university that it's only fitting that they

crown their relationship here," he said.

 

The Bhakti Yoga Club and the families of the bride and groom funded the

wedding.

 

"That's what student clubs are for - to provide venues for students to have

different cultural and ethnic experiences," Swami said. "Most of these

students have never seen an ancient ceremony like this."

 

Mirna Amaya, a senior pre-med student, said the wedding was beautiful.

 

"For those of us that don't know much about the religion, I think it was a

very nice cultural experience," she said.